Chapter 28 : Millennium Height (2)

Heize smiled brightly at the mentor she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s been a while, Master.”

Her mentor, Valion Dragomil, made a face like he had seen something unpleasant the moment Heize entered the room.

Maintaining her smile, Heize continued speaking.

“Even for me, it’s a bit hurtful to see that kind of expression from my master after such a long time.”

“If anyone should be hurt, it’s me. Why would you be?”

“I even brought a gift. Are you really going to treat me like this?”

Heize shook a bottle of whiskey as she sat down.

With a small sigh, Valion sat across from her and lit a cigar.

Heize spoke again.

“You’re really trendy. Already gotten into cigars, I see.”

“So now old men can only enjoy relics of the past, is that it?”

“Who would see you as a relic? A legend, maybe.”

“Same difference. Legend or relic.”

Hooo.

Valion exhaled a long puff of cigar smoke, then scolded Heize with a disapproving voice.

“I told you not to get too into magic.”

“That’s why I only learned it at a hobby level.”

“Your sword skills are a mess and you’re calling it a hobby? Let me guess—you’re arrogant enough to think you can master both? You should become a priestess of the evil god instead of a knight. You’d fit perfectly in the Seat of Arrogance.”

He really was a terrifying master.

He hadn’t even seen her wield a sword, yet judged her skill just by the way she walked.

As expected of the strongest sword in the empire—he was in a league of his own.

Heize quietly opened her mouth.

“You’re probably the first master to recommend that their disciple become a priestess of an evil god.”

“Heize. We study alchemical magic, but we are not mages. You must understand that.”

Heize had heard those words since she was a child—since the day Valion picked her up off the streets of the empire.

Which is why, normally, she would obey. But…

“Isn’t it unnatural to give up something I can actually do?”

“This is why having half-baked talent in too many things is a curse.”

Valion shook his head and extinguished the cigar before asking, “So, why did you come? Treating your master’s words like the ramblings of an old man.”

“Master, the imperial court has been unusually active.”

“Already? That time’s come, huh.”

Valion narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance—the direction of the imperial capital.

But he wasn’t seeing the present.

He was recalling the past.

The time he once trained the current emperor with a sword.

Valion frowned and muttered, “But what’s that got to do with me? I’ve already stepped away from everything.”

“There’s always the ‘what ifs.’”

“And that’s exactly why I say I’ve stepped away—because those don’t involve me anymore.”

“Master.”

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, Valion put a new cigar in his mouth and spoke again.

“No matter how insolent a disciple may be, if they come all the way to their master’s house, I can’t just turn them away, can I?”

“Thank you.”

“You only listen when it suits you. What a willful disciple.”

“That’s why I brought a gift.”

“If you’ve done what you came to do, get going. I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Understood.”

Heize bowed her head and left the drawing room.

Outside the mansion, she ran a hand through her brown hair and let out a long sigh.

With this, she had secured her insurance for a worst-case scenario.

But still… she wondered.

Hopefully, all this preparation will just end up being an overreaction.

Hopefully.

***

Previously…

Having been reborn as the Witch of Resurrection, I used the final alchemical magic together with my future self to grant the wish of the Hot Springs Witch…

“It was then. Lady Flora whispered to Lady Luina, ‘I entrust my will to you. In return, you must…’”

Gulp.

The crowd swallowed nervously.

Chris finished the tale with a solemn expression.

“…see the end of magic.”

“Kyaaah!”

“That fierce battlefield! The hot springs coveted by the evil god’s priestess! We’ve brought every drop without wasting a single one!”

The hot spring water sold out completely.

Chris’s dazzling storytelling was impressive, but the tree-man dancing beside her helped too.

“We hate to disappoint, but we’re off on a great journey. Even if we wanted to keep this business going, we simply can’t.”

“Which means…!”

“Yes. We’ll pass on all the equipment and know-how. In exchange, just a small additional fee…”

“I’ll buy it. Right now.”

All the extra wagons and barrels that would become burdens once the trend faded were passed to the next group.

“Lady Luina, you’re insane.”

“The insane one is Lady Chris.”

“How much did all of this even cost…”

There’s a word for this: premium.

It refers to the added cost for special value or quality—exactly what applied here.

A hot spring infused with something the evil god’s priestess had desired.

That premium made the hot spring water’s price skyrocket.

And with the equipment sold at an inflated price too, we…

“Ten times. It’s ten times the profit!”

“Chris, your eyes look glassy.”

“We made ten times the money!”

We earned 2,000 gold coins.

Half of that was mine—1,000 gold coins.

An unbelievable result.

Sure, when we sold the grapes, we earned twenty times the return, but that was on an investment of just 15 gold coins.

This time, we invested more.

Tenfold returns had a different weight.

No—at this rate, the Chris route might actually be faster.

We’ve already hit a third of the target amount.

It might seem easy because Chris made it look that way, but in modern terms, she just made 1 billion won in two rounds of street vending.

They only ever dealt with the most dangerous, high-risk items—but if you’ve earned money, doesn’t that make you the winner?

In that sense, Chris was definitely a winner.

“Normally, making this much would be near impossible, but with Lady Luck by my side, everything just works out.”

“So now I’m your lucky charm?”

“Ruina, what do you want to do next? Tell me—just me.”

“Please don’t say that like I’m some devious mastermind who came up with a plan even the devil of money would admire. You did all the work, Chris.”

Excitement practically radiated from Chris.

Breathless, he shouted with joy.

“Tonight’s on me! Eat as much as you want—whatever you want!”

“Yay!”

“I’m feeling generous! Leon, drink all the milk you want too!”

“Thank you.”

“Ruina, let’s hurry back to the inn. I’m starving.”

“Hold on a second.”

I stopped Chris.

As much as I was looking forward to a glass of honey mead, there was something I had to do first.

Chris tilted his head, puzzled.

“What’s up, Ruina? Do we still have stuff to sell?”

“Is that where your mind always goes? No, not that.”

“Not that? Ah…”

Realization struck, and Chris slapped his forehead.

“You’re going to buy goods for the next trade run, aren’t you?”

“I need to stop by the Alchemy Guild.”

This money-obsessed merchant—what am I supposed to do with him?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure.

“So that’s what you were up to.”

“Go ahead to the inn without me. I’ll meet you there after I’m done.”

“No way. What if someone scams my precious investor? I’ll go with you. What about you, Leon?”

“I’ll use this time to gather rumors around the capital.”

“Then it’s decided.”

We each set off with a goal.

Leon headed for the pubs of the imperial capital, while Chris and I gathered the silver ore and made our way to the Alchemy Guild.

The capital’s Alchemy Guild was extravagant—like everything else in this city, really.

In fact, it was harder to find anything not flashy in the capital.

Creak.

As we pushed open the door, a sharp scent hit us.

The tang of metal.

There were other strange smells too—like a mad witch had been conducting wild experiments.

No matter how polished it looked, it was still an alchemy lab at heart.

“Hello?”

I called out carefully.

The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could drink honey mead.

“…What do you need?”

“Whoa!”

I jumped.

The voice came from right in front of me.

Blinking, I looked up and asked, “Have you ever considered becoming an assassin?”

The woman standing there looked like your typical gloomy shut-in mage.

In other words, a textbook alchemist.

It was my first time seeing her, but I instinctively trusted her skills.

The “assassin” responded coolly.

“…I tried, but my physical abilities weren’t up to par.”

“I see. So, Alchemist—are you any good?”

“…I’m the apprentice of the guild’s chief alchemist.”

“You’re exactly who I was looking for.”

Grinning, I placed the chunk of silver ore on the table.

The “assassin” adjusted her glasses and examined it.

“…What is this?”

“That’s what I want to ask. Why are you wearing glasses with no lenses?”

“…It makes me look more competent. Anyway—what is this?”

“It’s silver ore.”

“…Silver?”

She tilted her head, skeptical.

The ore looked more like marble than silver.

I kindly explained.

“There’s silver inside.”

“…You’re telling me this much silver actually exists?”

Now she looked shocked—a familiar reaction.

I had reacted the same way the first time I saw it.

Anyone would be stunned seeing a chunk of silver that massive.

I gently patted the ore and said, “I want it compressed… into a lantern.”

Clink.

As I placed the lantern prototype on the table, her expression shifted.

“…To compress this into lantern size would take multiple rounds of processing. Not to mention a ton of ingredients.”

“I’ve got plenty of money.”

“…Then I can start right away. When do you need it finished by?”

“Chris?”

“We’ll probably need to check in with Leon on that. But it’s not super urgent. We’ll work with your schedule.”

“…I’m not an assassin, by the way. I’m Myuran.”

“I’m Ruina.”

After the introductions, I pulled out a pouch of gold coins and asked,

“How much for the deposit?”

“…Ten gold coins will do.”

I glanced at Chris, who gave me a subtle nod. Fair price.

I counted out ten gold coins and laid them on the table.

“Here you go.”

“…Where should I send the finished piece?”

“We’re staying at The Place Where the Wind Rests.”

“…Got it.”

With a short nod, Myuran picked up the silver and disappeared into the back.

She looked like she wanted to start right away.

That trustworthy efficiency made me smile, and I turned to Chris.

“Shall we head back to the inn for dinner?”